Laura Young
ECB Publishing, Inc.
When the camellia bushes start blooming, which they are right now, they bring back memories of my brother-in-law Randy, who died relatively young in a car accident. Our pink-red bush is one he gave us as a housewarming gift when we moved to Monticello, way back in 1992. It was about knee high at the time, in its gallon pot from the nursery. Now it towers way over my six-foot head, and the ground beneath it always becomes beautifully blanketed in fallen petals. We planted a white camellia over by the water garden in his memory some years later – after the midnight visit from the sheriff, after the funeral, after the shock of it all turned into a different kind of ache.
Randy was a gardener. We still joke about how in the summertime his refrigerator would come to resemble a woodpile, with zucchini stacked like so many logs in a cord. We enjoyed a lot of zucchini that he grew and shared.
This September, my father passed away, just a few days before his 93rd birthday. Lately, while trying to decide on a plant to nurture in his memory, our old rosemary bush suddenly started dying. I couldn't tell if I'd watered it too much or too little, or if it had simply fulfilled its expected lifespan and basically said, “I'm done.” Such questions (too much? too little? just done?) echo through so many of life's reflections.
Rosemary, it turns out, is an ancient symbol for remembrance, so it's clear to me now that a new rosemary bush will be the perfect thing to plant in my dad's memory. He was a gardener, a good cook, and lived such a long full life. He made a difficult transition from being a minister to a college professor, and he also was a poet who took me to a lot of poetry performances over the years, including many Shakespeare plays. What comes to mind now is Hamlet, in which the bard gives a grieving daughter voice, saying “There's rosemary, that's for remembrance; pray, love, remember …” This herb, though not showy, carries depths of flavor and goodness within it. Just like Papa.
What to Plant in November: Thankfully, fall is an okay time to transplant rosemary. I'm going to try to start a new one from the old one because, despite being almost completely dead, the rosemary bush still offers a few green, flexible sprigs suitable for rooting. I'll know in about a month if it's going to work.
In the veggie garden, there's still time to put in transplants of chard, collards, onions, spinach and strawberries. Those willing to take a risk can also still give transplants of broccoli, cabbage and kale a go. Direct seed opportunities this month include arugula, carrots, chard, collards, garlic, lettuce, mustards, spinach and turnips. Be sure to keep your successions going week after week this month to set up for a long, steady harvest through the winter. Plants that will need protection from frost include the chard, collards and mustard greens.
What's Coming Along: Things have moved a bit slowly while rain has been scarce for the past couple of months, but I have managed to put in two successions of romaine lettuce, some cauliflower, broccoli, onion sets and broccolini. All are making decent progress, and the broccolini is going gangbusters! I'm ready to take a few of the lower leaves to the kitchen now, even though the mini broccoli flower buds have not yet appeared. This entire plant is edible and easy to prepare as you would any other type of cooked greens.
I might not have thought to try rooting a rosemary sprig if I hadn't already been busy growing tropical Okinawa spinach from some cuttings I got at a Garden Huggers meet-up. I rooted them in a glass of water by a kitchen window, and boy were they quick to sprout! Now they're in pots in the greenhouse, with tasty and beautiful leaves (the Gynura bicolor variety has green and purple foliage) coming on at a fast pace.
What We're Eatin' in November: Herbs! While things have been a bit delayed with most of the vegetables, we're still enjoying a wide range of delicious herbs. I'm gathering dried rosemary right off the dying bush while also enjoying fresh, tender leaves from the blue basil, sweet basil, tarragon, oregano, sage, pineapple sage, lemon grass, parsley and mint.
This week I chopped a handful of these together to flavor a black bean salad that also had some corn, brown rice, red peppers and avocado in it. A simple dressing of lemon juice, olive oil and salt brought it all together. Yum!
In addition, my mouth is watering at the prospect of homegrown sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving dinner in a few weeks. I've dug good-sized tubers, and they should be cured just in time to join the party.
What's Tempting Me? Thyme and borage. These are herbs I don't have, and supposedly they make good companions for last month's (still unsatisfied) temptation: more strawberries.
Happy fall gardening, everyone! If you'd like to share a gardening question, just send it to reporter1@ecbpublishing.com. I'd enjoy helping dig around for an answer.
IN THE FEATURED PHOTO: A plant chosen to remember a loved one might be a tree, flowering shrub like this camellia, perennial herb, symbolic flower or whatever would have special meaning for those involved. ECB Publishing, Inc. Photo by Laura Young, October 29, 2025